Images(7)

Woman's Jacket and Petticoat 1990-10,1-2

Jacket

Dateca. 1790

OriginAmerica, New York, Albany (jacket) and Asia, India (textile)

MediumCotton chintz, mordant painted and dyed; tabby linen bodice and sleeve linings.

DimensionsOL of jacket 25"; waist approximately 27". Shoulder width 8 3/4" Textile selvage width 45 1/2". Two pieces together (jacket and petticoat) approximately 54" long.

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Cora Ginsburg

Object number1990-10,1

DescriptionWoman's fitted jacket, part of a two-piece gown, of India cotton, mordant painted and resist dyed with red and blue in a design of flowers, exotic animals and birds. The jacket has long tight sleeves, shaped over the elbows, a low rounded neckline, and a center-front closure intended to be pinned shut. The ruffled peplum is pleated to the bodice with 1/4" pleats. The back bodice is shaped to fit close to the body with curved seams at side-back and a center-back seam extending into a deep point below the waist. The bodice and sleeves are lined with linen. The inner seaming of the bodice has two buttonholes, possibly for insertion of boning.
Label TextJacket and Petticoat, Two-piece Gown
East Indian textile, worn in Albany, New York, by Ann Van Rensselaer, ca. 1790, textile earlier in date
Mordant-painted and dyed cotton chintz, bodice lined with linen, reproduction kerchief
1990-10, A-B
American customers with sufficient wealth prized cotton textiles painted and dyed in India for the export market. With their brilliant, colorfast hues and luxurious polished surface finish, Indian chintzes were the most expensive and desirable of the printed cottons. This two-piece dress has a fitted jacket with ruffled peplum at the waist. The jacket is worn over a pleated petticoat with flounced hem. The ensemble would have been appropriate for informal daytime wear. Jacket ensembles such as this became increasingly fashionable in the 1780s and 1790s.

The ensemble was worn by Anne Van Cortlandt Van Rensselaer of Croton and later Albany, New York.
ProvenanceWorn by Anne Van Rensselaer, Croton/Albany area of New York.